


Lights and Shadows in Hallownest

by Ice_Fox_of_Camelot



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Human AU, OCs - Freeform, Origonal characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:14:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22473172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ice_Fox_of_Camelot/pseuds/Ice_Fox_of_Camelot
Summary: Two travelers enter the gates of Hallownest, unknown to what war they're about to be thrown in to.Two residents trying to survive, unknown to what secrets they're about to uncover.And many more who are simply trying to live in this city of decit, of crime, and of lies.Hallownest, the greatest city of them all, is about to be rocked by a conflict that'll change eveerything.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	1. Lover Gods of Light and Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> Art credit and co-writer: https://trackinghallownest.tumblr.com/
> 
> Vixul and Evangeline are from: https://ask-the-vixuls.tumblr.com/
> 
> Before you go saying this isn't rellated to Hollow Knight this is chapter one and we'll get to it.

The City of Hallownest was said to be the greatest in the land. A sprawling sight, with people moving throughout the streets of the city with excitement and busyness. The markets were full and taverns were fuller. People came from all over to see the sights of the city. The Blue Lake district, that’s streets were flooded and people got around in boat. The Garden districts with elegant guardans taken cared by the White Gardeners and their Queen. And of course, the District of Tears, the core of the city, kept constantly raining in a beautiful scene. This was home to the most prestigious of the citizens here. All from “Lemms Genuine Antiquities.” To “Spiral Core Nailsmiths.” To of course. “The Pale Crown Corporation”, the biggest and most dangerous player in the game that is Hallownest.

This is not, in fact, where our story starts. Or should I say stories.

In fact, our first story starts out far from the center of the city, in the outskirts just inside the great Howling Walls that defend the city. The Dirtmouth District. The place many new people come into the city. It’s name was appropriate, as apart from the main road that led farther into the city, the roads were dirt and dust. This is where the less off citizens live, making a living, peddling all they could, some turning to crime. Well, that was untrue,  _ most _ turned to crime.

But this is where we start, on the main street just inside the great gate to the city. Where two travelers have just entered in hopes of not fame, or glory, but knowledge, understanding. Or so they think. In truth, they are simply here to be gay and do crime, although they dont know that yet.

* * *

**Lover Gods of Light and Shadow.**

****

“The city of creativity!” Said Evangeline in a tone mocking that of a tour guide. “See the great rocks strewn about the street! The homeless living in the shade, and the great rivers of god knows what in the gutter! Come to Hallownest! Don't wait!”

Vixul laughed at Evas antics. It was mean, but fair. Who thought that the Dirtmouth District was a good place to put at the entrance? It’d turn most people off of visiting! The two travelers, one tall, one short, walked through the crowd, one hand on their purses, and the other in each others. Already those looking for a quick buck had been turned away by Vixul, who at this point, was used to the usual silver tongued merchant looking to scam travelers out of Geo. Likewise, potential cutpurses had been deterred by a quick smack.

Perhaps it is time to describe our two travelers. Vixul Pollana, a traveler from a far off land. She was tall to six foot two inches, with long silver hair braided into a ponytail, she had fair, winter skin, but under the facade held scars. A bandage adorned her right eye with a bright purple crystal around her neck. She wore simple winter clothes and a heavy cloak, both seemed apt to the cool air of the winter months. On her back there was a travelers back as well as a long slender spear, in an easy to access position.

Evangeline by contrast, was like a child. Short, owning only four feet and five inches. She had bright purple hair in two braids, her skin was darker, suggesting that of a tropical climate, and much like her companion, she held pains of her own. She wore dark clothes and a purple half-cloak with golden trim. She wore a pack, but had no weapon, a sure sign of a spellcaster, if one were to try and confirm this with a stealthy hand in ones bag they’d be greeted in a most unpleasant way.

The couple continued to walk and talk, their plan was to find a place to stay, preferably somewhere in the Crossroads district. Then over the next few days look into the city itself. There had been many tales of the Soul Sanctum, as well as the scattered Snail Shamans, although there were much less tales of them. Perhaps a visit to the Garden District, and if time permitted, the Blue Lake District. It would be a simple trip, a few days, then gone.

But of course, that was not to be.

It all started with a bit of luck, Eva was talking to herself about where to visit first while Vixul was looking around with half a mind to her. She caught a glimpse of something in an alleyway, slowing down to take a look. Two figures in cloaks and full rouge attire were scuffling with a bag, trying to keep something inside. She thought for a moment ‘Oh but they must have just caught an animal, nothing weird.’

And then the bag yelped in a sound no animal would make.

Vixul stopped in her tracks, Eva turning back in confusion before recognising the cold look in her eye. She stared at the scene, or more accurately, stared  _ through  _ it. Vixuls hidden eye, obscured not by bandage, cloth, or the magics that she could sense protected the strangers from scrutiny, peered through the bag to see a child. A  _ child _ . These two were kidnappers.

Vixul stepped into the alley, Eva hanging back to see her at work. The two figures turned, both wore masks over their upper faces and cloth over their mouths. They had weapons on their backs.

“Let them go.” Vixul said coldly, the figures made no move to do so. One stayed back and held the bag as the other stepped up, drawing their blade. Vixul sighed, she had just gotten here and she was about to get into a fight. She drew her spear.

The two duelists remained silent in their standoff. The masked rouges longsword held right in front of them while Vixul held her spear side on, one foot in front of another. Vixul made the first move, attempting to pierce the defences of the stranger. They held steadfast, stepping back and moving in to counterattack. Vixul blocked the blow with the base of the spear.

This small dance went on until Vixul played a trick. She threw her spear at the stranger, who dodged it to the side easily. Turning back to the traveler the stranger saw Vixul grinning wildly, suddenly the rouge was struck in the back, stumbling forward. The spear, having traveled through a portal made by Vixul, had traveled back and struck the masked combatant. Vixul, for personal reasons, kept her spear blunted, preferring maimed, better than killed.

The second rouge stepped forward while Vixul was retrieving her spear. They drew a knife while approaching, but before they could do anything they were lifted up into the air by a long black tendril, the source of it came from Evangeline's cloak.

“A-aah! I think we’ve won this one.” Said Eva cheerfully. Ignoring the extra appendage she had apparently grown like it was normal.

“Eva.” Vixul spoke simply. She held up her spear, the dulled tip had a smear of a black liquid, Eva raised an eyebrow, glancing at her own tendril that was keeping one rouge suspended.

“It’s like me.” She noted.

“Quite, we should g-”  
“ _Guards!_ ” All four turned to see that their scuffle had been noticed, and that someone had indeed, called the city guard. Vixul jumped to get the bag, tossed aside in the battle, while Eva slammed their rouge into the other. The duo quickly made off, running before they could get caught.

“This better be worth it Vixy!” Said Eva, Vixul didn’t respond, instead undoing the tie around the bag and helping the figure inside out. Behind them the city guards had made it to the alley, the two strangers were nowhere to be found. That was worrying, but hopeful they wouldn't see them anytime soon.

They were a child, as Vixul saw. Blond-red hair tied in two braids. Thick glasses with a long crack in them, and a long tattered dress with fluffy rimms. They were crying softly. Vixul held them close. “ _ It’ll be alright, we’ll get you home…” _ . What kind of monsters would kidnap a child?!?

“Yes,” said Vixul, turning to her partner. “I think it was.”

“ _ Oh my god _ .” Eva whispered. “Your eye’s a lifesaver Vixul.” She grinned as Vixul shook her head. Her sight was an unfortunate side effect, a curse in trying to meddle with life. 

“I’m just doing what I always do.” She replied, noone should be kidnapped like that, now, to find their parents. 


	2. Diligent God of Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Art credit and co-writer: https://trackinghallownest.tumblr.com/
> 
> Chaff, Nip, and Spindle are from: https://trackinghallownest.tumblr.com/

**Diligent God of Discovery**

****

“I’m going out.”

“Again??”

“Yes, again… it’s just hard to make ends meet right now, Nip, you know that. I just need  _ something _ .”

“What do you even expect to find in those old caves, anyway?”

“More than you probably do in the trash.”

The taller of the two ‘Nip’, wearing not much more than a simple tunic and leggings and more bandages than were probably necessary, narrowed their eyes for a moment before shrugging and leaning back on their chair. The other, shorter and stouter and dressed warmly with a large unlit oil lantern hanging from the side of his pack, rolled his eyes and pulled his hat down over his ears. His freeloading housemate, as good company as they were, really did grind his gears at times like this.

“…oh, nevermind. Just don’t wait up for me, I might be a while. And lock up if you leave too-“

“Chaff. I’m not  _ five _ . Just go already, unless you’re planning to nag at me all night instead?” The words on their own may have been construed as malicious if it were anyone else, but Nip was wryly grinning, and they’d known each other long enough that even in a bad mood Chaff knew not to take it seriously. He simply turned, opened the door out onto the streets of the Dirtmouth District, and stepped out into the evening air.

It was early dusk at the time, and still a rather frigid time of year; no more ice, fingers crossed, but his breath was still visible in the crisp biting air. The streets were rather empty as a result, but maybe that was for the best. While this  _ was _ a rather secluded part of the district, far from the main roads and tramways where a majority of the population gathered, the barren landscape was a rather unusual sight – but a welcome one. 

He really hadn’t intended to stay long enough to notice little things like that, or even to stay at all. He’d come years ago as part of a troupe of performers - not that he had ever done much of that himself, though - and stayed on principle, not having enjoyed such a lifestyle as much as he’d expected. Now he was a homeowner. ...of sorts. It was an empty, derelict place at first, one he’d mostly had to restore to order himself, and that he surely wasn’t even legally entitled to. But it was Dirtmouth - nobody  _ cared _ , and before long Nip had stumbled into his life and his living room too, without much of an introduction on their part even. At the very least, it worked, and that was all that mattered. 

Money, however, was always going to be an issue - without qualifications or really documents at all, how were you supposed to make a living, or even enough to eat? A chance discovery had very much saved his life, in that regard. One that he’d closely guarded for quite a while. It was a veritable treasure trove of resources and artifacts he knew collectors would be tripping over themselves to get their hands on, hidden under the city itself - and it was right where he was heading.

Stopping in the back of a deserted one way street he took a quick glance behind to ensure nobody was trying to follow, before slipping into an alley and ducking under a crack in the wall. Being so short  _ sometimes _ had its perks, after all. The breakage led directly into yet another half-collapsed building, in the corner of which beams had collapsed and destroyed part of the floorboards - beneath which lay what looked almost like a porthole, just wide open and gaping and infinitely dark.

Chaff huffed, set his jaw, and reached out for his lamp to light. This shouldn’t take  _ that _ long. He’d run into some interesting tunnels he was  _ sure  _ he hadn’t explored yet the last time he was there - and unexplored meant whatever was there was unclaimed. Just one of the little round things - Arcane eggs, his buyer had called them once - would have him set for weeks if not months, and he  _ couldn’t _ have taken the only ones. 

He descended the ladder carefully - and eventually the narrow shaft opened out into a vast cavern. Or even -  _ catacombs _ , more like. Huge arched ceilings of the like never seen in the city of nowadays stretched out far above, too far to see from the ground in the dim lighting, and patches of moss and lichen grew wild on the towering brick walls. The city under the city. But this was just the entrance.

Chaff headed straight for a passageway set in the wall opposite the ladder shaft, and with learned steps navigated through what felt like miles of enclosed alleys and abandoned chambers. The lantern flickered a few times, but didn’t quite burn out; its flame was just a touch redder than expected, and a trained eye could tell that despite its hearty glow the oil in the reserve was long used up. He was very lost in thought, but clearly knew where he was going-

...until something stopped him. Something glinting on the ground, reflecting the light in a way water did not. Curious, he leaned down and stuck his finger into the substance to inspect it. It was almost like… oil? 

It wasn’t his doing - he hardly used the stuff, could barely afford it, and he was already in territory he was sure he’d never been.  _ Was someone else here? _ Suddenly seized with fear or anticipation or both, a shiver went up his spine and he picked up his lantern again. He really did have no idea what to do. The droplets formed a thick, viscous trail leading out towards the next chamber and beyond, and some curiosity compelled him to follow it despite common sense saying not to. And what if it belonged to somebody in trouble? He couldn’t just leave, right?

“H-hello…?” he called out into the darkness. His voice echoed loudly around the silent caverns, likely audible from almost anywhere in the labyrinth. “Anybody there?”

No response - nothing at all to indicate there was any life down here but him. A chill ran through him yet again; the echo reverberated hauntingly as he slowly began to track the source of the oil. Following it  _ back _ again would be enough to make his way out, so he didn’t bother with leaving a trail this time. He just wanted to get to the bottom of this.

It seemed to go on forever, at times smearing against walls and pooling; the longer this went on the more he pictured  _ blood _ rather than oil, a gruesome comparison but not an unfounded one. It really was a complete mystery, and increasingly disturbing. At one point, a tiny handprint was just visible against bare rock, slightly smeared as if grabbing out for something. The print was even smaller than his - quite a feat, unless it belonged to a  _ child _ . But how-? Did they get lost - did they  _ die? _ How old were these prints, anyway? Chaff’s stomach felt hollow all of a sudden, like he could throw up.

Until - what felt like hours later, he found his answer. As he turned one last corner and lifted his light - a little blue one shone  _ back _ , like a cat’s eye in a darkened room. Squinting, he tried to make it out from a distance, but whatever it was shied away and there was a shuffling noise from further down the passage.  _ There! _

Not yet speaking a word, he followed slowly until the end of the tunnel was better illuminated - a great wooden door inlaid with ornate, fantastical blue metalwork loomed up ahead, many many times bigger and taller than he was, and his jaw nearly dropped. What was  _ this- _

All of a sudden, more shuffling and his attention was immediately grabbed again, glancing around for the source of the noise. He only finally noticed a flash of movement out of the very corner of his eye, and shifted his lantern for a better look. This time he really did gasp. There, trying to hide behind curtains of vines and shrink away, was the crumpled broken form of a little kid still bleeding profusely the same black liquid he’d seen trailed all throughout the catacombs.

Their hair was closely cropped short and a dirty grey colour, though clearly mostly dirtied, but the most striking thing about their head was the  _ huge _ swathe of destroyed skin leaving most of the left side of their face horribly disfigured. The damage had taken out their eye and hardly even left much of a socket at all, and stretched right across their eyebrow right down to their chin and taken minimal chunks out of their outer ear. Now Chaff really  _ did _ feel sick, horrifically so. Their arm, too, on the same side - it seemed almost torn off, with nothing more than a bloodied stump left that they were clutching tightly with their remaining hand as if it would do anything to stem the bleeding. A hazy blue glow seemed to be forming over both, but that was hardly Chaff’s concern at the time.

The child was skinny as anything, dressed in the bare possible minimum leaving them far too exposed to the cold and the elements, and their remaining eye was wide with terror and sunken from sleep deprivation. It only took a few seconds of agape staring for Chaff to collapse down to his knees, and grab open the little hatch on his lantern. A little wisp of flame parted from the larger one and danced around his fingers for a moment; the little one followed it with their gaze, still huddled away fearfully.

Still without saying a word he reached out to help them sit upright; they really didn’t have the strength to refuse, and despite shaking like a leaf almost seemed to sink into him as he did so. And with that, with one hand he supported their back, and with the other slowly moved the flame over the open wound on their shoulder. It wouldn’t hold long, that he knew well enough, but it’d do until they could get  _ any _ kind of medical attention. Strangely enough, despite the reality of what he was doing -  _ burning _ them, and badly - they didn’t cry out, nor make any sound at all. For a moment he doubted they could. But why? 

He didn’t dare try and cauterise their eye - it was too risky, he decided - but first removed his own outer cloak to wrap them up better in, then tore off scraps of his own sleeve to bind their face. It only took moments for the black blood to soak through, but it would keep it covered at the very least. By then they didn’t appear to really register what was happening at all, and lay limp; out cold, entirely. Chaff could still feel some kind of heartbeat, so it wasn’t a lost cause  _ yet _ , but he remained wary time was running out.

He’d have to go home empty-handed yet again, deal with worrying over food for another day, but this was objectively more important. Unexpected, scary, but more important by far. Worries over how Nip was going to react, too, was sitting in the back of his mind - but no matter. He’d cross  _ that  _ bridge when he came to it. 

For now, getting the hell out of the secret city was his only priority, nearly dropping his lamp in the process of hauling the shaking body onto his shoulders. They wouldn’t die - he wouldn’t let them. Now it was just a matter of actually making it home safe.


	3. Abandoned Goddess of the Troupe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art credit and co-writer: https://trackinghallownest.tumblr.com/
> 
> Vixul and Evangeline are from: https://ask-the-vixuls.tumblr.com/
> 
> Rosa are from: https://hello-universe-lovers.tumblr.com/
> 
> Sorry for the wait! Tracker had some school troubles and the chapter was delayed.

**Abandoned Goddess of the Troupe**

  
  
The busy streets of the Dirtmouth District were a perfect spot for a peddler like Rosalina. She sold her clothes and cloaks to anyone who wanted. It was a slow business, but she was well known, and thus, always made at least some money. Kind, but unwilling to take any talk; she was respected, in a way. Her wares, while not the best, were good enough for her fellow citizens. She wore a long blue dress that, while had the unavoidable stains of the dirt around her, was quite nicely kept. A viel covered her face, one she was personally ashamed of, with flower crowns adorning her head, a gift from the children of the neighborhood. She carried no weapon, as theifs would be dealt with in fire, not blade.

Rosa watched the scene around her from her cart. Another peddler tried selling his wares, cheaply made charms to protect from nightmares, she scoffed at that, like anything like that would stop her. Pickpockets and cutpurses were at work as usual, one nodding at Rosa in recognition. One unlucky thief was caught by a passing guard. Luckily, they escaped. No-one liked the guards here. Life continued, she sold some clothes, the peddler moved on, the thieves kept at work, and Rosa thought about life, or past life, or life that was never to be. 

She was not a normal human, she was, or was supposed to be a Grimm. A title, more than a name, but one that was to be passed down to her. But she was abandoned by her troupe, the previous Grimm leaving her behind. She still thought back to those days, scrounging for any essence or nightmares she could to survive. Had he left her on purpose? Was it an accident? Why had he never come back. Nevertheless she was here now, she lived in a small apartment, and got by just fine. Those who lived around her respected her some, and some of the kids who ran around would call her `mom’, A nice touch. Part of her popularity and charm was one of the skills she retained from being a Grimm. People’s nightmares were nourishment for her, and as people dreamed she could use their nightmares to keep herself sustained. As an effect of this, Rosa could tell what the nightmare was about, and act accordingly.

Rosa was snapped out of her thoughts by some commotion, it sounded like a fight of some sorts, and a few moments later two people came running into view, the taller clutching a child to her chest. The child seemed distraught, but didn’t cry out, it was a feeling of panic, but also, relief. Whatever had happened, these two seemed in the right.

“Miss’!” Rosa called out to the duo. “Best get over here quick.”

The two quickly went over to her cart and dived behind it, Rosa covering them with a large textile blanket as too look like a display. Rosa went back to leaning on her counter with her best poker face. A few moments later a pair of guards came rushing in, one who was not short turned to Rosa after a few moments. 

“Miss have you seen two girls come through here? One with silver hair?” He said,

Rosa shook her head lazily. “Nah, I saw a striking young boy the other day with grey hair, nice lad.” Talk about gossip, these lads would get bored quickly and think her a fool of sorts, but who was _really_ the fool here?

The other guard was asking some of the other locals nearby, all denied they knew anything. Of course they would, they liked Rosa. The two guards, flummoxed, moved on. Rosa heard a sigh of relief from the two fugitives. Rosa removed the blanket and started chatting. The two were apparently new here and had stopped a kidnapping-in-progress, but the guards had mistaken _them_ for kidnappers. Vixul and Evangeline were their names, the child they saved refusing to meet Rosas eye, or viel. The two bought some cloaks to hide themselves and headed off, leaving a nice tip.

They were kind, but that child had something about them that seemed off, something to do with dreams. . . It wasn’t her problem now though, hopefully whatever happened with them ended well. Rosa went back to her shop, tidying things up, preparing for the next customers who may or may not come, and pondering who’s nightmare would be her next meal.


	4. Forgotten God of Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art credit and co-writer: https://trackinghallownest.tumblr.com/
> 
> Vixul, Evangeline and Flicker are from: https://ask-the-vixuls.tumblr.com/
> 
> Radiance and Traitor Lord are origonal characters of Hollow Knight.

**Forgotten God of Light**

Vixul and Evangeline had escaped, thanks in part to that lovely lady. It had only been an hour and they were in trouble with the locals, all for this child. They were doing fine it looked like, clutched close to Vixul, eyes squinted shut. Eva kept her own eyes peeled for danger, they were wandering in a new city after all, who knew who’d try and jump them.

They both continued to move, seemingly randomly through the city, their surroundings getting more dour by the moment, after a moment Eva spoke up. “Where are we going Vix?”

Vixul did a double take, “I was following you.”  
“Nooooo I thought you had a plan!”

“I didn’t-” Vixul took a moment, if they were headed somewhere unconsciously, maybe they should continue doing so, with caution that is. “Let’s keep going.”

Eva rolled her eyes, it was silly, but Vixy wasn’t an idiot, she knows what she’s doing.

Vixul did not, in fact, know what she was doing. She was following her gut, even if that’s what she usually did, it almost never led to sunshine and roses. Although little did she know it would lead to the former.

It took some time, but the three ended up in front of a flower store. “Sun Floras” the sign said, it looked, while not abandoned, worn down. They stepped inside. There were flowers along every surface, despite the deceiving exterior the store looked very well kept. There were a few customers and a short, stocky figure behind the counter talking to a customer. He was messy looking with plant clippings all over his hair. Eva and Vixul stood to one side for a while, looking around. The child looked up from their perch to look around at the place, they seemed much happier already. Eventually the store clerk looked at the duo, then at the child. The reaction was instant.

He kept his demeanor, or in other worlds was panicking his wits out, and stood up. “Oh I’m  _ so _ glad you made it! Your cousin is in the back room!” He said through his teeth.

“Cous-” Eva started but the clerk coughed loudly.

“Tartor! Your cousins are here!” He said before giving them a _look_. He went swiftly back to the customer. Vixul and Eva had no idea who he was talking about, there couldn’t be a cousin here, they had just got here! Was it something to do with this kid?  
Before they could think much longer however, a _large_ man entered the room. A seven foot monster that dwarfed even Vixuls above average frame. He was covered in scars and had a long, tattered cloak. Vixul could see the outline of two large deadly scimitars concealed by his sides. The child seemed quite excited to see this `Tartor”. 

“Come.” He said, waving a hand to follow him into the backroom. They considered leaving for a moment, but they doubted they’d make it far. They followed him.

The backroom hallways were cramped, as it seemed to lead into many different rooms, including a staircase both up and down. The walls were worn with the passing of so many people in such a space. They could hear talk from the surrounding businesses from this place. Sometimes they passed rooms with partially opened doors with people playing darts, or pool, others with big boards with maps all over them, one or two even had guards in front of them. They didn’t even try and look in there.

Eventually they reached the end of the hall deep in the bowels of the surrounding buildings. There was a guard in front of here too that instantly saluted and stepped aside for Tartor. He knocked on the door, and pulled it open.

The room was big, much bigger than the surrounding architecture would suggest. It was an office. One wall dominated by a detailed map of the city, with cupboards and such splayed everywhere. The other wall was a collection of spears, shields, swords, trophies and such. The third far wall was a window, which was strange as well, seeing as they were nowhere near the buildings wall. But the duo weren’t fooled for long, Eva could easily recognise the wavers of illusion magic while Vixul could simply see through it.

There was a desk in the center of the room with papers, stamps, and a tin of mints. The whole room would have been intimidating if it wasn’t for one fact. The place seemed, well, baby proofed. The trophies were put behind glass with a lock, edges sanded down, pins for the map put into a locked box. Except for the chair behind the desk, there were beanbags. It seemed out of place, wrong, especially considering the centerpiece of the room.

Sitting in the chair behind the desk facing the “window” was a figure, wearing a golden yellow feather boa and a large sun hat with a feather in it. She wore a long feather coat-dress hybrid. Her skin was fairly light but with an obvious sun tan, she was tall too, intimidating. She had a frightening aura around her, in the quite literal sense; There was light surrounding her. The lady turned around, eyeing the two through dark glasses with a golden trim, before landing on the child. Her stern face broke up, a flicker of relief shone through before being covered by the serious demeanor. The child also seems quite excited now, reaching their little arms towards the lady at the desk.

“ _ Bring them to me. _ ” She spoke, her voice was commanding, strong. Vixul nodded and stepped forwards to the desk. The Lady stood up and took the child from Vixuls arms, holding them close. She held them for a few moments, eyes closed, before putting them on one of the many beanbag chairs and sitting down again.

“ _ You both saved my child without a second thought to whom they belonged to. That innocents is a blessing, in a way. _ ” She said,

“We just-” The Lady held up a hand, cutting Vixul off.

“ _Explanations before questions, traveler. The child you rescued, my child, is named Flicker. Tartor, my taskmaster, is an alias, his true name known only to me, you may call him the Traitor Lord._ ”  
She continued on, turning to the windows once again. “ _My name was once renowned, now a name most forget and despise._ _He_ _did this to me, and now he may do it to you for stopping him._ ” She paused for effect. “ _They call me, The Radiance._ ”

“Who?” Eva said, clearly unfazed by the theatrics, Vixul tugged her arm in a ‘please be quiet’ way. But The Radiance just chuckled.

“ _ That is the question these days, who. Who was this person, so loved their name was to the point it was a blessing.”  _ A hand appeared from behind from the silhouette of the chair, long and elegant like the rest of her, with a wine glass that was not there before. “ _ A crime lord, to the answer. One of fairness and justice. One who defended the lowly. But who is the king who dethrones such a lord? A miserable little pile of lies and secrets.” _

Vixul and Evangeline exchanged glances, they had met people high and mighty before, but this person, she had an agenda, a goal, and a vengeance. “And why tell us all this?” Vixul asked.

“ _ You have already marked yourselfs as the King's enemy Vixul, Evangeline, if you were to stay here without picking a side you will perish. I’m offering my assistance.” _

“How did you-” Eva started.

“ _ We know things.”  _ Came the sly reply. “ _ Keep your mind in check, I would say. _ ”

“Nosey ass…” Eva mumbled, which earned a squeeze from Vixul and a death glare from Traitor Lord.

Vixul kept Evas hand in hers, it helped calm her nerves at times. After a few moments she spoke up. “I don't think we can accept it. We don't want to get involved in things here.”

The hand holding the wine glass disappeared behind the chair before coming out again, more empty. “ _ My offer will still stand. _ ”

“That’s it?” Said Eva, “No blackmail? No threats?”

“ _ You’ll see what I mean yourself. _ ”

The two remained silent for some moments more before Radiance ordered Traitor Lord to escort the two out. Flicker waved to them as they left as they made their way back all the way through the front. They left the building unmolested.

“What was that about?” Asked Vixul.

“Dunno, reminds me of Silver Kingdom.”

“Oh God dont remind me…” Eva laughed as Vixul had her head in her hands. The two walked on to find a place to stay, unknowingly to them, with some new stalkers in their shadows.


	5. Resentful God of Strife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-writer: https://trackinghallownest.tumblr.com/
> 
> Sorry for the delay, Trackers tablet broke and I had to try my own hand at making a Nip statue.

**Resentful God of Strife**

Nip slammed a small leather pouch onto the wooden counter; it creaked under the force of the blow, and a couple of scratched fossil-like tokens rolled out. The store clerk, a young-looking fellow with stiffened shoulders and tight lips, slowly shifted his gaze between the coins and their owner with eyebrows raised. Nip just narrowed their eyes and groaned.

“Just… give me whatever the fuck kids eat.”

It had been a long two days. Whatever the hell Chaff had dragged in, they weren’t convinced it was even a kid at all. But their friend had insisted, so here they were, one hand on their coinpurse and the other pinching the bridge of their nose in mild frustration. How come they had to be the one doing civilised things like  _ buying _ stuff and… whatever else? That was clearly Chaff’s thing - always had been. Of course there was a very rational reason, but Nip was not a particularly rational person.

“So… food?”

Mild frustration had already boiled over into not-so-mild, and their hand balled into a fist, dropping the pouch. “I- j- yeah,  _ food _ , duh- just tell me what I can give a toddler that won’t kill it because really, fuck if I know ,” they growled, other hand now also firmly on the counter and looming up above the clerk who by now was looking  _ very  _ uncomfortable.

A sigh. “…look, uh… Miss…?”

“Don’t you dare. Try again.”

“-Sir?”

“Close enough.”

“…right. What’s your budget exactly?”

They tipped out the remaining contents of their pouch in front of the rather intimidated employee. A dead fly and some lint rolled out with the actual currency, which they nonchalantly picked up between two fingers and tossed aside. He watched, rather disbelieving of how questionably his Wednesday morning shift was going, before inspecting the coins and wincing.

“And?” Nip snapped, clearly losing their patience just a bit. “Just tell me what’s good or whatever and you can keep the change.”

The clerk frowned again; this was nothing more than pocket change. He could get in trouble for this, but he _ was _ kinda worried about whatever kid this stranger was talking about – and also eyeing up the knife attached to their belt. Defeated and fairly anxious, he relented, and just swept the paltry Geo into his lap and meandered out from behind the counter over to a stand of baked goods.

“Here.” He handed over a rather hefty loaf of bread, still slightly warm. “It’s soft, should be fine.”

“What, nothing else?”

“C-come on, man, you had  _ pennies! _ If this weren’t for a child I wouldn’t even give you this much,” he blurted, only slightly quivering and clearly losing his patience more than a little. “Just go before I change my mind!”

Nip opened their mouth to argue- but stopped. They didn’t want to be there, really, and sticking around arguing with strangers was not going to get them home any faster. They just furrowed their brow, shoved the loaf under one arm and their hands in their pockets, and left without a word more.

_ Gods _ , they thought, kicking pebbles underfoot as they trudged along sullenly in the general direction of home. Why did they have to deal with all this? It wasn’t like they  _ cared _ all that much. Not at all about the child, or whatever it was, at least. Chaff had made them do it. Well… more like requested; rather politely, actually. They didn’t have to be there at all, did they? Gritting their teeth they started to fume again, but more so at themselves than their unassuming housemate.

They just couldn’t stay angry at him – no, it was them who was being a dumbass, slinking around in the early hours for what? A useless, and frankly rather terrifying, crippled toddler that had been dragged out of a fucking  _ abandoned crypt _ , and done nothing at all in the past day but rock back and forth and stare ominously at anyone in eyeshot. At that point they really weren’t sure it was even a person, and if so it certainly wasn’t a normal one. That… sounded mean, they were aware, but it was true. One day it’d been bleeding horribly from its arm and face, oozing sickly black ‘blood’ that almost seemed to seethe and hiss as it flowed and congealed, and the next morning there was nothing left but dry grey scar tissue streaked with blue. Whatever magic bullshit was clearly going on here, they strongly believed it was in everybody’s best interest not to get involved – that was just common sense, right?

But Chaff, sentimental idiot that he was, wasn’t having any of it – and that sure made them feel something. Infuriated, probably, or more exasperated maybe. If they were  _ that _ worried for their safety, surely they could just go get rid of the kid behind his back, right? But then that felt unthinkable. That’d hurt him, a lot, and they didn’t think they could bear to do that. Hell – maybe it really  _ was _ that was the sentimental idiot here, after all. Chaff was just… too goddamn  _ nice _ . Too much so for his own good. Their jaded voice of reason only seemed to laugh - surely that naivety would just come back to bite him later? It was bound to happen someday. But at the same time they really hoped it  _ wouldn’t _ . 

They weren’t sure what they were feeling anymore. but their chest felt a little funny; they started to walk a little faster, just staring at the ground. Maybe they should think about something else instead. They were just getting a little worked up, is all, surely; nothing a little distraction wouldn’t fix -

“Hey, Traitor. You didn’t forget, did you?”

Nip  _ immediately _ froze in place, bristling; this was  _ not _ the kind of distraction they were after. In fact  _ anything _ would be better than this. The voice calling out was undoubtedly addressing them – nobody else was around, after all, and that nickname made them  _ livid _ – but when they stole a glance around they quickly found they couldn’t see the speaker.

“About the meeting…? Gods, you better not have – you know what kind of problems  _ that _ would cause,” the newcomer continued, without waiting for a response. Their voice was dry and humourless, clearly irritated; they didn’t want to be here any more than their target did. Nip reached for the knife on their belt, fingers wrapping around the handle, but knew already they wouldn’t use it; they couldn’t. “For you, that is. You know what they’ll do to whoever you’re mooching off, right?”

“I-“ They started out intending to snap something back, to attack the messenger, before the powerlessness of it all sunk in. It wasn’t as if they could change anything by screaming at another lackey – they’d seen this person before, recognised them by voice, and they really were just some rando paying the price for sticking their nose in. Much like them, in some ways at least. 

“…Right. I’ll be there. Just- just leave me alone and go terrorise some other sad fuck, okay?!”

The sound of footsteps retreating on wooden boards was audible from one of the house windows on the leftmost side of the alley. “You think I want to be here? Fuck, I’ve still got half the city to cross, you don’t need to tell me twice,” the hidden speaker grumbled, and a small pebble tossed boredly at a wall bounced down and landed at Nip’s feet. “Take it from me - you’d do well to learn your place before you get your ass killed. You better show up tomorrow.”

Then… nothing. Nip was fully ready to yell back at the messenger, but by then only the slightest creak of floorboards was audible, fading into background noise with the rest of the bustle of Dirtmouth. Gods, that was  _ not _ a welcome encounter at all. They hadn’t even been sure if it was possible to get any crankier, but now they knew it for certain. What they wouldn’t give to punch the fucker – or  _ anyone _ , really. They really did feel as if they could just go ahead and deck a random pedestrian out of rage at this point. But they were alone again, and felt very much trapped; like they’d been put in their place, and they had to deal with it. These weren’t  _ new _ feelings, though. This visit had just been a reminder. Just once they wished they could  _ not _ feel that way, but…

They turned towards the row of trash cans neatly lined up to their right, wound up, and punted them as hard as they could muster with a  _ highly _ infuriated grunt. The bins clattered miserably as they rolled and bounced away down the alley. It really didn’t do much at all to ground Nip or put their head on straight, but fuck, was it good stress relief. Maybe now they’d be able to make it home without losing their composure any more.

The bread under their arm by now was slightly squashed and a little dusty, but no worse for wear. Right… that errand. They’d almost forgotten, but it was probably for the best that they could think of worse things to be worried about right now. For now, though… maybe they should just head back home. And quickly, just in case.

Home… they wouldn’t have one if it wasn’t for Chaff. He hadn’t a clue how much they did for him… how much danger he put himself in, just having them under his roof. Would he throw them out if he knew? Surely not – he was far too nice, they’d gone over  _ that _ enough already. But they couldn’t say anything anyway. They wouldn’t dare. Maybe he’d try to pull some hero bullshit if he knew what they were running from, and they didn’t think they could live with themselves if anyone else they cared about lost their life to  _ her _ .

But that really wasn’t worth thinking about right then, they decided quickly, setting their jaw and taking a deep breath in and out. They’d just get home, give the bread to the kid, and worry about their next steps after that. It wasn’t as if this hadn’t happened before. They’d live - they’d all live, in the end.

What they’d have to do to ensure that, however, was another question entirely. One that they’d maybe never stop dreading the answer to.


End file.
